Tales of Remnant: Discoveries & Choices
by Roses Bride
Summary: What happened before Beacon Academy? Here's a little tidbit of their back stories. This are prequels meant to mirror the RWBY trailers, there's a fight in each story. Remnants of Earth Trailers/Prequel
1. The Forest and the Hanging Fire

" _If you curl up because of fear, you won't be able to do anything. The more courage you put into things, the more happiness you'll get out of them_."

The cold was starting to chill on his bones. As the night settled in, the young man kept on walking forward in the forest, his coat blowing along with the wind and doing very little to protect him from the low temperatures.

There was no sight of the home he had stormed off from in anger a mere hour ago, looking to burn up his frustration by wrecking up the forest a little bit. At some point, he must have gone too deep into it, not to mention the trees he had taken down and caused a change in scenery around him, leaving him at a loss about the way back home.

"Damn this forest. Damn this day," he muttered to himself, clutching his staff closer to his person.

The wind was making the trees whistle and the fallen branches and logs crunched under his steps. The moon rose up above him, bathing everything in its faint light; rather than relief, the pale silvery light only gave him an eerie feeling, it made everything look… unearthly?

Suddenly, the beautifully painted illustrations from his books weren't so great anymore. It was different looking at it on pages from the safety of his room, and now that he was standing in one of them, like the little girl looking for her grandma's house. It felt surreal.

The thought did nothing to distract him from the feeling of being watched.

 _'Don't think about it. Don't think about it or else they will come_ ,' he tried to remember the words every single grown up had drilled into children's heads from the moment they were old enough to walk:

 _Girls and boys come out to play  
The moon doth shine as bright as day  
Leave your supper, and leave your sleep  
And join your playfellows in the forest._

 _Come with a whoop, and come with a call  
Come with a good will or not at all_

What came next? He really needed the distraction right now. _'Come with good will or not at all,_ ' he repeated to himself. If that was true, he was doomed from the moment he entered the forest.

How he wished he hadn't noticed the glowing eyes following his every movement. He stopped cold on his feet, the chill on his spine paralyzing him with fear.

 _'This can't be happening_.'

The moment he heard another crushing branch that definitely did not belong to his own steps, he made a run for it, the cold wind felt like needles on his face but he refused to look behind, the growling sounds closing on him were all the confirmation he needed and it just made him run faster.

He reached a clearing, out of breath, but he couldn't stop. He knew this place; he wasn't far away. If only his legs hadn't felt like burning, he could have run faster.

And then he saw them.

Beowolves, all stepping out from behind the trees surrounding the clearing. He didn't want to look at them. He felt like he would be sick, his insides churning, sweat trickling down his neck. His vision became blurry. 'Don't cry,' he chanted in his head.

Before he could blink away the tears, there it was right in front of him.

Glowing red eyes piercing through him; a white mask and black fur; spikes protruding from its body. In spite of himself, he felt entranced by the beast. Time seemed to slow down and he couldn't tear his sight away from the Beowolf in front of him. Still in a daze, he saw an arm stretching above its body and the claws aiming at him.

….

He felt his arms weighting down above him, hands clutching tightly on his staff. A black arm stopped by it with its claws inches to his face.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the other arm coming up at him and without thinking about it, let the blade out and pierced it until he was met with resistance.

Then it slashed from the arm through to the lower half of its body, which fell into the ground like a smoky trunk, along with the other half.

His breath held.

Something was rushing through him like a wildfire and it felt good, really good.

The rest of the Beowolves came all together at him but the dizziness was long gone, giddiness taking its place; he could do this.

The first one had its head slashed and blown to bits by a bullet.

He rushed right to the next and jumped using its head for impulse, the other one chasing him crashed with the former.

Two consecutive gashes later, and it hit the ground.

He jumped on top of the next one and embedded the blade on its back as far as it could go and fired another bullet.

The resulting blast sent him up in the air.

Against his instincts, he closed his eyes. One second, two more and then he would hit the ground… leaving him to their mercy.

A moment of realization hit him. He was aware of the air, of the force onto his body, oh his body position amongst all of it, and what needed to be done, in order to land safely…sort of.

He forced his body to spin and grabbing tightly his weapon; he concentrated all the force of the falling into the twin-tip of the blade and charged to the nearest Beowolf.

Now there he was with his staff stuck to the back of a Beowolf running wildly and him grabbing tightly to it.

 _'Yes!_ ' he wanted to scream when he successfully grabbed the spikes below his hands and managed to remove the blade as well. The beast was trashing around, no doubt trying to get him off his back. Yuya was undeterred and continued to grab hold of it, now able to wrap his legs around it.

The thought of just chopping off its head was tempting, but looking around and seeing the others hurrying to them gave him a better idea.

He adjusted himself to a higher point and grabbed onto the bigger spike and was now mounting it. The Beowolf just looked plain confused while he tested if he could maneuver its movements from there. This was going to be fun.

The Grimms were now charging at him, no doubt prioritizing killing a human over their kin, not that he was surprised. With his staff in one hand, he readied for the onslaught.

Maneuver was a stretch of what was happening; the Beowolf was doing nothing but running around, trying to escape from the others, but his added weight and wound hindered its speed and movements and was easily being attacked by the pack.

Every time one of them got close enough to try to grab him he was delighted to slash it and fire some Dust bullets to their mouths.

After a while it was a blur for him.

 _*Slash*_

Another head down, and couple extremities too.

' _Fire_.'

Another one hit the ground.

He was starting to like the feeling of the wind on his face; it was exhilarating.

The last remaining Grimm seemed to be purposely keeping up with the one Yuya was mounting, and then it jumped on top of them.

For a flashing moment, he just stared at the mass of black fur coming at him, but he stepped up and slashed it in half before it could touch him.

The Grimm veered and had him stumble and land on its back face first.

He tried to grab hold of the spikes again, but the Beowolf chose that moment to raise its body and growl. He was sent rolling on the ground before he could grab a hold.

He looked around for his weapon, and found it…

….right behind the feet of the Beowolf; no chance to reach it.

' _Crap_ ' he saw the Grimm charging at him.

He wished for his energy high back, for his mind to come up with something, anything to dodge this, but fear once again got a grip of him. He couldn't move. He…

 _'I'm going to die here_ ,' he thought, shutting his eyes...

*BLAST*

*thump*

….

….

….

 _'What?_ ' He slowly opened his eyes to find the Beowulf at his feet, slowly dissolving in black smoke.

"Are you alright kid?" he looked past the body and saw a man in his early thirties holding a cannon over his shoulder.

He was alive? He was alive! Speechless and frozen in place, Yuya was openly gaping at the man. He saw another figure coming towards them, and was relieved to find that it was a human.

"Yuya!" The voice belonged to his father. "Are you hurt?" He saw him rush to him past the officer, and forced him to stand up, scrutinizing every part of him.

"Dad…" his voice broke and he felt tears rolling on his face."I'm sorry…I didn't…" what could he say? That he was sorry he had almost gotten himself killed? All because he had been angry at him earlier? He felt disgusted with himself just thinking about it.

"It's ok Yuya. You're fine now," his dad attempted, but he could see him tremble; he could hear the heartbreak behind his shallowly reassuring voice. No, it wasn't ok.

But he couldn't say anything else as the officer approached them, holding his staff, and started telling something to his Dad. He tuned it out, and let himself be carried on his father's back, slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

A million thank yous to AnimeGirl 144 for the beta reading!

Well there you go, this is it for the first "trailer" for this AU, a few notes:

\- This takes places roughly 2 and half years prior the main story, so Yuya's display doesn't really reflect his current abilities

\- Also his weapon is still a simple staff with blades, he only upgraded it after mastering his semblance.

All the trailers are gonna be moving from this point forward and until the current time-line


	2. A Steadfast Friend

_"Your hopes have become my burden. I will find my own liberation..."_

The wind billowed, letting the remaining leaves of fall go away with it. Three people walked along the road back to their homes. The party was made up of two guys and a girl. One of the guys was taller than the other two, almost to the point that he towered over the two. The two others were roughly the same height; any difference was not noticeable enough to matter.

"Look mommy! That girl has a sword!" said a little girl, no older than five, pointing agape at them.

"Shush honey. They're Signal students. Don't bother them," replied the mother, a woman well into her thirties.

Whatever else the little girl had been saying was lost in the distance as they passed by another road.

"Thanks for coming with me guys," said the shorter boy. He was carrying a mildly ornate staff and a picnic basket in the other hand.

"Don't mention it Yuya. You don't need to ask twice," the girl said. She was carrying a flower bouquet.

"That's right! I the man Gongenzaka will always be giving proper respects to a hero." He was carrying cleaning supplies, a bucket, rags, and soap.

They could get the water at the cemetery.

As they neared the entrance, Yuya started to drag his feet and fell behind them, his face downcast; this would be the first time he would come here without his father, or Yuzu's but after lots of arguing everyone agreed that as long as Yuya would go accompanied it shouldn't be a problem.

It really was a miracle that both men had allowed him outside the main roads after last year's incident. Not that Yuya would ever admit to being affected by it.

Gongenzaka knew better though.

Yuya had been awfully skittish for several months now, and whenever he or Yuzu had errands to do near the forest, he excused himself, or just out-right disappeared. Yuzu didn't have the heart to bring it up, but after a while, Gongenzaka decided it was time for him to confront this.

This is why he advocated to both men for this trip. He also advocated with his father…although for entirely different reasons.

...

 **The Day Before**

"Noboru, do you realize what you are asking from me?" asked the stern man seated in front of him. Gongenzaka was bowing with his face down on the tatami of the dojo. He didn't dare to raise his head just yet.

"Father, I have made my decision," he responded.

"And thus are you planning to throw away everything I taught you?" countered the man. There was a warning tone in his voice; it went ignored.

"Father, I will not do such thing, but…" He doubted for a moment. "... I need to advance forward, father." There he said it out loud.

Over the last couple months he couldn't help but feel he was falling back in his training; his goals. Something was missing.

His father obviously expected him to elaborate.

"Father, I, our family, and this dojo…are all doomed to extinction unless we evolve," he raised his head and looked at his father. The man looked impassible as usual but his brimming stare was all Gongenzaka needed to know he disagreed.

"I- we need to move forward father…" he repeated. "And with our current ways that will become impossible in the near future." If it wasn't already, thought Gongenzaka.

"You…my own son, are asking me to abandon our ways? The ones passed down for many generations in our family? The same ones that aided this kingdom in the war?" With every sentence his volume augmented but he still didn't move from his spot.

"I would never disgrace our ancestors like that father," he assured him quickly. "But preserve our legacy doesn't justify stagnation." He took a deep breath before continuing. "The world is constantly changing, father, and so are the people; even the kingdoms have changed. We can't continue to pretend we will be able to live up to what our ancestors founded if we can't adapt to the new ideologies. You were the one who thought me that a true warrior doesn't make unnecessary movements, but how can we claim to honor this, if we don't make any movements whatsoever!"

Be it new techniques, social standing or political involvement, the Gongenzaka family had remained quiet after the war, even at times where (he felt) a side should have been chosen, or at least an official stand on the matters.

Silence befell upon the room, his father kept staring down at him, and for the first time Gongenzaka sat up and stared back at him, it needed to be done if he was going to change his father mind.

"Very well, Noboru I will offer you one chance to defend your stand, but if you fail…" said the older man.

"…I will drop the subject, father. I understand." He finished.

...

The Gongenzaka Dojo along with their living quarters sited atop a hill overseeing the town, which was no coincidence, that's how their ancestors wanted it to be after the war was over. Right now in the middle of the main sparring area two people were on each side of it.

On the right side there was Mr. Gongenzaka, holding a sword, an elongated and curved one, the very same he used for the entirety of his huntsman career.

On the left side, Gongenzaka was there too, holding his Amice Fortis with both hands in full unfolded mode; it would be an offense to his father not to do so.

"Noboru!" yelled his father. "Since you seem so interested on defying my teachings, feel free to attack me as many times as you feel necessary. I will prove you wrong with my ultimate defense".

He sighed and chose to give in.

As expected, the moment his blade was about to make contact with his father's, a repelling force shoved him backwards.

His father had an opening.

As the old man charged, and was met with the humongous blade of his son, the only way Gongenzaka could ever lift it to attack was to make it light.

Of course, that also meant that is was less effective during a strike, so he held his ground.

As both chose to split and retreat, his father once again adopted his defensive stance.

Before it could be done, though, Gongenzaka charged again. This time, his father flinched and took a couple of steps back.

Then the older man amplified his semblance twofold and retaliated once again. This time, contact was made as the Gongenzaka fell to his knees.

Still, Gongenzaka got up, looking fine, if a bit fretted.

"A good start, Noboru, but you have to be better than this," his father started. "That is, of course, if you truly care for your cause."

Gongenzaka shut his eyes and concentrated on his body.

His father, on the other hand, frowned at the sight of cracks on the ground his son was standing; he then started to advance towards him.

Every single step caused a crack to be formed. Mr. Gongenzaka then amplified his repelling field tenfold.

Gongenzaka stopped for a couple seconds, and his father stared agape as the cracks multiplied and chunks were being lifted off the ground.

His son continued his advance, not without effort though, since he was starting to get drenched in sweat and he could see the effort every step took from him.

When he was halfway, he once again raised his blade at an eye level, and then stopped. The elder man saw the blade doubling its width …no it was unfolding and a glowing sphere was forming at its center.

A luminous ray was coming at him; there wasn't enough time to dodge.

 ***Crack***

 ***BLAST***

…

…

…

He felt drained and sore all over his body, but his sword still held up in front of him.

After the glowing sphere that fired at him finally dissipated, and the wind took away the dust flecks, he saw debris sprayed everywhere. His son's blade dropped in the middle, and then his son sprayed on the floor.

Looking at Noboru's broken body left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"I failed…" he heard him say, and saw the tears forming on his eyes.

He sighed and started: "You have not failed, Noboru. You proved your point and defended it to the best of your abilities."

Noboru had closed his eyes, but he knew he was listening.

"Our ancestors would be proud of you," he finished. "I will talk to Hiragi tomorrow at the first hour." He turned his back to him.

Gongenzaka let exhaustion drift him to sleep after hearing those words, falling into a content lull.

...

"We're here," said Yuzu, stopping in front of the entrance, waiting for them to catch up. The sun was coming down now, and the sky had an orange tint to it, probably the last one of the year as winter was already upon the island.

They all walked among the stones and graves; they were different in styles and engravings. People all around the world always looked forward to keep alive any tradition left from the 'old world.'

When they arrived to Yoko Sakaki;s stone, a simple one with the Sakaki family name etched on top and hers, Yuya's and her husband names below; the only difference was that the former two had a red tint.

As Yuzu and Yuya went to retrieve water, Gongenzaka stayed to look out for their stuff. He sat in front of the gravestone and looked at the plaque in front of it; a gift from her former comrades to the family.

 _A Shooting Star has fallen_

 _Thus let us all wish upon her soul_

As he heard his friends coming back, he sat up and helped accommodate them. He didn't miss the fact that Yuya had yet to remove his goggles, but he supposed he could indulge him this time.

"Yuya, Yuzu, I the man Gongenzaka, believe this is the perfect place to make a vow." If Yuya allowed it, that is. Both him and Yuzu looked at him for an answer. He finally freed his eyes and looked at them and then at the gravestone.

"Yeah…I really can't think of a better place." He then smiled at them.

They all carried away then with their cleaning duties; it didn't take long. Yusho and Yuya rarely let it gather too much dirt, not to mention the Director. Once the gravestone looked as clean as it could, satisfying even Yuzu's examining once-over, the three of them faced it with a solemn face.

"Hey Mom, there is something you need to know," started Yuya.

"The three of us will follow in your path, and make our best to live up to it," continued Gongenzaka.

"We will make you proud, and continue to protect this world," finalized Yuzu.

"This is our wish, Mom. We saved it until now, so make sure to watch us from the sky," added Yuya.

As the sun went completely down, they all put the food as offerings and replaced the old withered flowers.

"Just so you know," said Gongenzaka. "Next semester, I'm gonna be your classmate"

Silence, and then an explosion of cheers and questions came upon him, including some jokes about him being the 'mysterious transfer student' of Signal, and some comments about newbies pranks.

He needed his friends and their strength to achieve his goals.

And really, if they could be together like this every day of their remaining lives, then his wish was already granted.

* * *

Here's the "Gongenzaka Trailer" sorry if the fight part seems to short, but that's what happens when you put two primarly defensive fighters against each other :P

A million thanks to AnimeGirl 144

Also yes Gongenzaka was "home schooled" (in combat, not regular school) in the dojo until...well this chapter, which is a year and a half before the main story. Next one will be Yuzu.


	3. A Flowering Melodious Dream

_"Scathing eyes ask that we be symmetrical, one sided and easily processed. Yet every misshapen spark's unseen beauty is greater than its intended judgment."_

' _Attack_.'

Her sword made a contact with his much bigger blade, and ax to be precise, and at least twice the weight so every attack made her wrist ache.

' _Block_.'

Her wrist gave out and she had to use her shield to block the attack. Mistake on his part, now his left side was open and she attacked.

But he seemed to realize on time and retreated. When the ax came down on her once again, she retreated this time.

It only seemed to make him more eager to attack, and continued his onslaught on her.

One slash came a little too close to her and cut her shirt. Before he could take advantage of the opening, she raised her shield.

He laughed at this, and Yuzu made a dock against his chest.

The poor boy actually looked scared when a bit of blood seeped on his white shirt. He really didn't know about the sharp than retreat, he looked angry and fired his cannon at her without a warning.

She felt goosebumps on her arms, and realized her shield would not block this one; she could only evade.

She somersaulted, and with her hand holding her ground, the impact died was drifting down her body, and her breath was coming off in shorter intervals.

She was acutely aware of the electricity hanging in the air, and the soft wind blowing through her hair.

When her father asked her to aid the sparring session with the freshmen, she had agreed almost immediately. She wasn't so excited anymore when he told her she had to 'tone it down' a little because she couldn't expect them to have her fighting prowess.

It wouldn't be so bad if this boy (Rinko Inoue, if she remembered well) wasn't acting like an impulsive idiot and be serious about the match; being the 'best' of his class must have gotten to his head.

She wasn't going to back down now; she was done going easy on him.

"Tired already, Yuzu?" asked the young boy. He would learn soon not to get too concentrated on her touch and her hearing now, and felt it, the added pressure of his left foot and the soft whistling of his ax-cannon.

He wasn't going to attack her now, no; he was taunting her, having grown a bit too confident over the last few minutes of sparring.

So she charged her sword right at his mid-side.

 _'Gotcha._ '

The moment he raised the axe to aim at her, she changed her standing and flew a kick right at his shoulder. She made sure to add extra pressure to have him fly halfway across the arena.

To his credit, he was able to use his weapon to reduce the force. Rather than falling on his face, he made a flip and landed on his feet.

"Well, someone is finally getting serious, huh?" he said, trying to keep up his nonchalant act.

He could act all he wanted, but Yuzu could feel it. The way his whole body was now taut, and the stronger grip on the handle of his hammer, even the increasing heartbeat.

She refused to fall into banter and trash talk tough. A true warrior doesn't waste energy on talking.

Not that she didn't find a bit of pleasure at seeing him all ruffled because of her lack of answer.

Now he was coming at her, and the moment the ax was about to make contact with her shield, he changed targets and fired at the ground below her feet.

It cracked and she stumbled a bit due to the impact. From the corner of her eye she saw the ax once again coming at her.

 _'So he wants to play rough_.'

Before it could make contact, she quickly put together her machine gun and aimed at his hands, firing off an explosive bullet.

He quickly let go of the handle to avoid the hit but the moment the bullet exploded and made the dirt and dust raise to eye level, obscuring his vision. He wasn't about to recover his weapon any time soon.

…

Rinko couldn't make out anything on the arena, let alone search for his ax. He could make out Yuzu's silhouette though, and noticed that she was looking around for him, probably. If only he had his Alten Zahnrad, he could attempt a surprise attack.

Then his fingers touched something; it was his ax. His teeth gritted at the thought of letting her win this.

…

Yuzu heard the sharp sound coming at her, and rather than just catching his arm, she crouched and kicked the back of his shins, and then punched him in the gut mid-air.

By now, the smoke was nearly gone, and Yuzu saw him on the floor, charging his cannon at her. She dashed ahead, and grabbed his arm, turning him on his stomach with a knee on his back. He coughed and dropped the cannon.

When he opened his eyes, he felt a heavy weight on his mid-side and something sharp against his neck.

It was Yuzu's shield, or rather the razor edges, which she was now holding against his throat. His hand was useless, bent along his arm by her iron grip. There was only one thing he could do.

"Stop," he coughed again. "I forfeit."

A loud whistling was heard and then:

"MATCH IS OVER, WINNER: YUZU HIRAGI!"

...

She made her way to the benches where Yuya and Gongenzaka were waiting for her.

"That was brutal," commented Yuya, coming next to her, "even for you." He gave a look at the green-haired boy, now being helped up by her dad.

"Don't talk as if you weren't enjoying it." She had heard him in the bench cheering for her.

"Besides, he asked for it the moment he refused to take the match seriously," said Gongenzaka from her other side. "This will serve as a lesson for him. Good job Yuzu."

"Let's not exaggerate," said another voice behind them; it was her Dad. "Yuzu, I've already told you to take it easy with the freshmen," her father admonished her.

"But…"

"No buts Yuzu, I'm gonna have to take you off the sparring roster for a week because of that," Her father ended, going back to the class.

 _'Great, just great,_ ' she thought. What was she going to do all week now? She needed the training, and Beacon's applications date was around the corner.

"Don't worry Yuzu, I the man Gongenzaka will make sure that your training routine won't slack off," he offered.

Really, she could never ask for better friends.

"Yeah, and we're gonna need all the feedback we can get for out Beacon's applications anyway, I'll help you too." added Yuya.

...

Yuzu had just come out from her bath when her father entered the front door. He looked tired and spent. She couldn't blame him; he had been dealing with graduating paperwork and new applicants for Signal for weeks now.

"Do you want the bath ready, Dad?"

"Yes, please."

She went to start the task. And after she made sure the water was the right temperature, she started to think if this would be a good time to tell him that she planned to apply for Beacon Academy.

Her Dad was not one to hide the fact that he was proud of his hunter's way of life…but he wasn't shy either about his adoration for her and how much he would want her to stay in Patch and start an assistant teaching career at Signal.

She considered dropping little hints to soft the news, but she discarded it as soon as it crossed her mind. Neither of them were like that. It was better to do it in one try, like a band aid.

She was going to go for it.

"Dad!" she started trying not to look at him, if she did she may back off. "There's something I need to…What's that?"

Shuzo Hiragi was in front of her, holding a yellow manila envelope to her. 'No way.' She held her breath and opened it. It was a very complete resume of her training progress at Signal, along with a blank application sheet for Beacon Academy.

"I already handed Yuya and Gongenzaka theirs," he said, refusing to look at her. Sometimes she thought she was way too much like her father. Part of her wished she could stay in this house forever and make a life on this island, but she couldn't; the rest of her didn't really want to.

"Dad… I'm sorry" she attempted. "I was going to tell you before-" She couldn't continue because she felt hands on her shoulders. He was looking straight at her now and said:

"Yuzu, I just want you to promise me something." He looked incredibly serious saying this, almost like his 'stern teacher' mode. She just nodded in confirmation.

"I want you to see it through the whole way Yuzu. I don't care if you become the best huntress of your generation or not, but you better do your best to live up to everything this profession stands for."

"Yes Dad!" She hugged him with all her might. She really had the best father in the whole world, and she couldn't wait to tell her friends first thing in the morning.

"And of course, if you want to carry on with your dad's hot-blooded training, I'm not complaining either."

"Dad! Don't ruin the moment," she jokingly complained.

"Hehe. I'm definitely going to miss my melodious diva."

He hadn't called her that since she was five years old; Yuzu still remembered when she decided to name her weapon inspired after that nickname, and nobody had to know. She knew he was crying now, so she didn't dare to step aside for a while, and by the time he was done, the water was far past cold.

* * *

So here you go, the third chapter starring Yuzu; special guest include Shuzo (aka. Hot-headed Teacher), Yuya (aka. Sad Tomato), Gongenzaka (aka. The Manliest man to have ever manned)...

Ok sorry about that, anyway following the timeline, you can see our dorks preparing their resumes for colleg- I mean Beacon Academy, this one has takes place a year after Gongenzaka's, six months before our story, hope you like it.

Special Thanks to AnimeGirl 144 for the betareading.


	4. DD - The Demon Lord

_"Everyone is entitled to their own sorrow, for the heart has no metrics or forms of measure. And all of it...is irreplaceable."_

Only ten minutes to go.

Nakajima kept pacing around the green room, muttering to himself about several things that Reiji felt, right now, were of no consequence.

His father would not suddenly change or stop his demonstration schedule; Leo Akaba did not move his schedule for anyone, except maybe his mother.

No, there were no other people available for it; not with such a short time notice.

There was no backing out of his Beacon's acceptance. While this wasn't technically true, he still wasn't going to back out.

And no, even if his father disapproved, he would not act surprised, or taken aback, not in front of a military leader.

Afterwards, the man just left the room to receive his father.

He heard several steps coming down the hallway on top of the room and knew it was time. He took a moment to check his D.D., to ensure the recent modification would not interfere with his… performance.

...

Nakajima was standing at the door with two other men beside him.

"As you can see, the installations have been upgraded this year, along with the new equipment," said a tall, bulk man in a purple military uniform.

"It's very impressive, Professor, but it was my understanding that you would be showing us a new operational system for simulated battle? For our Atlesian Knight new model," said another man as tall as Leo Akaba, in a white suit and just as commanding in presence.

"Ah yes, in fact we are just in the arena where you will witness a top tier demonstration of said OS by one of our best students at LDS; an aspiring young huntsman actually. I believe he was just admitted to your academy, General," said Leo, not a drop of smugness in his tone; he was just stating a fact.

The General merely nodded and proceeded to evaluate the arena; it was a domed circle which extended for quarter a mile or so, it was dimly lit and completely white like everything in the building.

"Excuse me," said Nakajima when his scroll beeped.

"Nakajima is everything ready?" asked Leo.

"Yes sir, just…Yuu Sakuragi has just been deemed unavailable for the demonstration." He hoped his tone was as incredulous as possible; if the Professor discovered his involvement in this, he would be fired in the spot.

Rather than question his statement, Leo Akaba merely nodded and the General lifted an eyebrow, both of them expecting him to have a solution ready as usual.

"Of course, there's a…person available for the simulation. I apologize for the last minute decision. There weren't many fitted for such combat level."

Another nod and the General returned his attention to the arena.

He walked over to the control console and started typing the commands. The automated speaker processed the words inputted.

"BATTLE SIMULATION STARTING. UNREGISTERED OPPONENT DETECTED. PLEASE STEP FORWARD FOR A FULL PERSON SCAN."

It really only took a minute after the gate at the far left side of the arena opened and the three men watched the silhouette of a tall boy enter the arena. From the distance, only his red scarf and blue sweater were recognizable, but Nakajima had no doubt the Professor recognized his son. The General, on the other hand, made no comment. Nakajima doubted he knew too much about Leo Akaba's son, much less recognized him on sight.

Once again the speaker started:

"RUNNING TEST FOR SOLID VISION SYSTEM. OPPONENT REGISTERED AS REIJI AKABA."

At this, the General did turn to look at the Professor, but seeing the man hardly shaken, he returned his attention to the arena.

...

Reiji had no way of knowing his father's reaction, but he had a good guess based on the fact that the test kept loading. A panel appeared on his scroll for him to choose the opponents, but he discarded the panel and wrote a secret command:

"BATTLE ROYALE MODE: ON."

He had no way of knowing which or how many opponents the simulator would have him fight, but looking back at the viewing window, it only made his blood boil with adrenaline.

There was no way out of this, only through.

A screech was heard and everything that wasn't in the arena limits disappeared in a curtain of faint blue light, not unlike the crystal dome covering it, and floating platforms appeared distributed around the area.

He jumped onto one of them, testing it for any fractures and finding nothing out of place. Much to his chagrin, he had to admit his father outdid himself this time.

There was only one test left, and it arrived just in time, it seemed, as he heard metallic steps behind him. He took a deep breath and plunged.

The arena was left now in complete silence as Atlesian Knights, one after another, started to arrive.

None of them sensed threats, but they still went their way to cover as much ground as possible. Their red glow and black forms contrasted highly against the colder colors of the simulations, making them stand out.

 ***Thump***

Before any signal was sent, one of them hit the ground, its red glow dying down. It had been ripped in half from the back.

Out of nowhere, the form of a teen was made out where the robot had been standing. The boy held a dagger in his hand and the command was sent to attack.

One after another, they charged at their target, and every time he kept moving way too fast for them to catch. He would approach them from behind and rip them in half with the use of his weapon running down their back.

A group of knights seemed to catch onto this and surrounded him. In the middle of them, Reiji was on guard, eyeing them carefully.

All of them had their arms made into makeshift blades, but the one right in front of him had its cannon on the right one.

No doubt the shot would reach him before he could plunge.

He must have made a threatening move for the next thing he knew a blast was coming at him.

He grabbed tightly onto his dagger and his scarf, and readied his body for the impact.

It sent him rolling onto the floor.

The moment the knights surrounded him though, his body was clearly seen disappearing through their shadows.

It had been worth it; he could have only used his ability with the shadows, and now he was above them in one the platforms, he got out a couple of flechette's cartridges and readied his bow.

From above them, one after another, the knights were pierced through and fell to the ground.

Some of them fell to pieces with bits of ice in between their parts. Others simply exploded and nothing seemed to be left of them except for metal scraps.

He stepped up and looked around. This couldn't be the end of the match; those Knights had been nothing but fodder.

Of course, he had no way of knowing that a Spider class robot was creeping right above him, until he saw its shadow on top of him.

Nothing prepared him for the giant arm throwing him off the platform. This wasn't a mere knight, and it didn't stop at seeing its enemy down.

His sight had barely adjusted to the new position and he saw the robot right above him charging its cannon.

He acted quick and sliced it with his dagger.

It exploded right in his face, but the boost was contained rather than full force at him, so no major damage was done.

And it managed to distract it enough for him to move from below the thing.

His aura was almost depleted, and he couldn't keep taking damage. He could only keep it at bay and keep running away from its reach.

Time and time again the spider droid (as he got to call it in his head) kept trying to close in on him.

If he went from the ground to the platforms, the thing would hang itself from the ceiling and still chase him. And every time, Reiji would keep firing more and more flechettes at the thing.

The ice-powered ones slowed him down for a couple moments but not enough for him to prepare a more powered-up attack.

The fire-powered ones did little other than to make it stumble and wave away the explosion as if it was a nat.

It was a long shot, quite literally, but he used an ice cartridge and a fire one, aiming to its dust joints at the middle.

That should be the weakest part.

It worked…kind of. The joints exploded and one of its four legs fell to bits, instead of the whole body.

But he had an opening now.

He neared the mechanical creature, firing more ice flechettes and ice kept accumulating on its now slower body. The moment its shadow was reachable, he plunged again.

From behind the 'Spider Droid,' he readied an arrow. This shot would require more power than normal.

He concentrated what little was left of his Aura and his scarf flowed slightly and looked bright crimson from the gathering glow.

….

….

The moment the arrow was fired and made contact with the Spider, it expanded its blow to smaller threads that surrounded the thing.

And then a whistle was heard, and the purple-black trails expanded and reduced the Spider to pieces.

The impact force made him crouch on the ground as it died down.

He felt exhausted and his body ached, he also felt a massive headache forming on his head, but it all seemed menial compared to his inner satisfaction.

...

"MATCH OVER. WINNER: REIJI AKABA."

The solid vision disappeared, but the metal scraps remained in the arena. Reiji had to admit that part of him wondered if those were the product of this new system created by his father, it was a frightening thought.

The far left door, the closest one to him, opened, letting through Nakajima, his father and General Ironwood. It was Reiji's first time seeing the general up close, and he couldn't help but think him similar to his father. Same upright posture, same build, and same presence that demanded obedience.

"Sir, are you hurt? Do you need me to call-" He stopped Nakajima with a hand gesture. The General was the first to speak up.

"Well young man that was an excellent demonstration." He directed the next statement to his father. "Professor, how come your kid slipped my attention for so long?"

"Ah yes, Reiji has always been one full of surprises," said his father, directing his piercing eyes at him.

"Well like father like son. You definitely caught my eye with that new OS. Solid Vision you say? We'll talk about it in your office, Professor." His father was definitely pleased at this, and the edge in his eyes seemed to soften a little. "But right now I got a few questions for you, Reiji. How old are you?" he asked putting his hand on his shoulder.

Any similarities to his father that Reiji may have gotten from this man flew away; there was no force into the gesture, and his eyes and lines on his forehead weren't hostile nor did they feel like such. This man was indeed an educator.

"Seventeen, sir," he responded.

"Already? I can't believe it. Last time I saw you, you were at least a head shorter." A chuckle was heard. "Either way that works just fine. Tell me Reiji, have you ever thought about becoming a Huntsman?"

There it was. His father wasn't going to refuse his request now.

"Well sir, actually a week ago, I got my acceptance letter from Beacon," he said, adjusting his glasses. He was well aware of his father's stare on him.

"Oh well. Too bad Ozpin got his eye on you before me. I have no doubts he made the right decision." He retired his hand and once again addressed his father. "And I am sure the Professor is proud of his son as well, but enough chit-chat. Let's discuss business."

Only Nakajima remained with him afterwards, and he allowed himself to relax a bit.

"Are you sure you don't need to see the doctor?" He must look terrible if Nakajima was questioning him. He just denied the question with the shake of his head again.

"It's nothing that I can't fix myself after a while, Nakajima." More exactly, after his Aura replenished.

"The Madame won't be happy about this," Nakajima remarked with a dejected tone. Reiji could tell he was counting his days left in this job.

"I told you to let me deal with the aftermath, Nakajima. They won't have to know you've helped me."

That's right; Nakajima was the one who always covered for him. He could return the favor just this once.

After all, this was the path he had chosen.

* * *

The timeline for this is basically a week after the prologue, and yes Reiji is a naughty boy who kept his training hidden from his parents e.e

Well here you go, with this chapter the trailer series is oficially concluded (wow I actually have a complete work now! :P) I hope you guys like this one as well. It turned out a bit longer than the rest, because well Reiji is very much a character that favors inner dialogue.

Thank you AnimeGirl 144, for a great job at the corrections.


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